USU Students Lift Off With Grand Prize Rocket Launch Win from NASA

Utah State University engineering students received lift-off from NASA after taking home the grand prize at the annual University Student Launch Initiative in Alabama April 19. 

The team took home five awards out of seven at the competition, including “Grand Prize,” “Best Manufacturing and Quality Control,” “Most Innovative Payload Design,” “Best Design Documentation and Presentation” and “Best Team Spirit.” As winners, the team received $5,000 from Alliant Techsystems Launch Systems to attend a space shuttle launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

 

The USU team had until May 12 to submit a final report that included conclusions from its science experiment and the overall flight performance. The preliminary design review, critical design review and flight readiness review were conducted by a panel of scientists and engineers from NASA and from NASA contactors and external partners.

 

“The competition was a great experience because we got to interact with other universities and see what ideas they had for their rockets,” said John Parrish, a USU rocket team member.

 

Parrish said the drag device the USU team designed drew a lot of attention from NASA and the other teams involved in the competition.

 

“Our drag device was the only payload at the competition that would actually ensure that the rocket would reach a mile above ground level,” said Parrish. “NASA paid us a high complement with our reports, saying they were far above what they expected at a university level.”

The competition challenged students to design, build and fly a reusable rocket with a scientific payload to exactly one mile in altitude. The USU team submitted a proposal in fall 2007 to the NASA contest judges and after being selected to participate in the challenge, began designing the rocket and payload under the direction of USU mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Stephen (Tony) Whitmore.

 

“These students are seeing practical applications for the whole spectrum of their math, science and technical classroom work,” said Tammy Rowan, manager of NASA’s Marshall Space Center Academic Affairs Office. “They're managing complex science and technology research and conducting aerospace and engineering projects from drawing board to launch pad. They get to be mechanical engineers, rocket scientists and theoretical researchers all at the same time.”

 

USU’s group decided to incorporate a unique air brake system on its rocket. As the required payload, the air brake system allowed the rocket to reach the required one mile altitude by deploying a drag device that slowed the ascent of the rocket until it reached the desired position. The USU team was the only school who used this unique approach.

 

USU rocket team members include Dustin Braithwaite, Tyler DeSpain, Shannon Eilers, Matthew Fifield, Jacob Haderlie, James Kelsey, Dennis Lazaga, Mike Lewis, Nathan Lodder, Bowen Masco, John Parrish, Jed Peters, Michael Phillips, Jeff St. Clair, David Winget and Shane Robinson.

 

“I'd like to congratulate all the teams that participated in this year's rocketry challenge,” said Mike Rudolphi, vice president of ATK Launch Systems Site Operations and Integration in Huntsville. “These students are without a doubt America's next generation of rocket scientists. I applaud each team for its efforts.”

 

Other teams competing in the 2008 event were Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.; Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, Ala.; the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Ala.; Harding University in Searcy, Ark; Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo.; the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D.; Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn.; Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.; and the College of Menominee Nation in Green Bay, Wis.

 

For more information about USU’s mechanical and aerospace engineering program, visit http://www.mae.usu.edu/. For more information about NASA education programs, go to http://nasa.education.gov.